We talked weeks ago about the idea of gifts: Saw provokes a number of thoughts pertaining to things we take advantage of. He targets people who he believes do not appreciate their blessings. When a gift is given, in this case: life, health, or loved ones, it is the recipient's choice of what to do with it, not Jigsaw's. He rationalizes his cruel punishments because people should appreciate their gifts, maybe so, but he should not be able to decide what other individual's need to be thankful for…yet he finds a way. Though Jigsaw’s victims can be free to live, their fate is determined: Frankfurt says, “A person’s will is free only if he is free to have the
will he wants” (548). The consequences
are so great i.e. taking a life, losing his loved ones, or cutting off his foot,
that Dr. Gordon (and others in Jigsaw's "game") has no free will.
Saw shows
ultimatums, dilemmas, and lose-lose situations: though there are choices, there
is no free will according to Frankfurt’s description: “a person is free to want
what he wants to want” (549). Jigsaw is "innocent" because he does murder, yet he causes deaths, arguably just as a severe a notion. Jigsaw threatens freedom, and in turn, determines a terrible fate or death. In later films (I've only seen Saw 2 and Saw 6 prior to this), consequences are often so severe that death may be a "better" fate. Finding oneself in one of Jigsaw's puzzles leaves him with minimal free will: yes, he has a choice, but it is difficult, painful, and haunting enough that his fate is determined by Jigsaw.
I am in total compliance with what you stated and agree with everything you said verbatim. Jigsaw manages to, although hand them free will, limit the free will they have and basically decide their fate. And as the theme is free will and determinism, the argument thus reveals that the limited free will they do possess ultimately leads to a sense of determinism, of consequences and actions that transcend their understanding and willingness (or lack of) to do what at that very moment, they believe to me morally correct. In a way it embraces the ideology Charles Darwin once conveyed about survival of the fittest, those who are willing to kill and fight for their life will survive; yet even then, not all of them do, as the movie portrays with the guy who killed himself trying to save himself. The gift of life is precious, and the sadist Jigsaw tries portraying that to the victims, but by taking their lives he fails to show them how precious life is, because in the end, they fight to live because of the fear running through them, not because they had an epiphany and understood the value of life.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen these movies, but from what you are saying it seems like what you said about free will is correct. There is the idea or illusion of free will that the person has, but ultimately there is the choice that is already decided for them. They are able to determine what decisions that they make like you said which is good in showing the determination part. This is a movie that would be good for moral discussions as well. Is what Jigsaw is doing similar to the White Bear movie in the way that he is bringing to light what may have not been shown. He is ultimately the decider of the fate knowing all the outcomes along with the hunters in white bear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mordecai, I have never seen the movies but as he said, Jigsaw was the decider of the fates knowing the outcome of the actions and what the people would ultimately choose. By giving them his own options, he limits their free will to limited outcomes. If I choose A, then X will follow, but if I choose B, then Y will follow. He limits them in their ability to choose and has the outcome already predestined.
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ReplyDeleteThe deterministic nature of this film brings attention to the nature of free will through contrast. Free will is a tricky subject, because few of our decisions are entirely free of the manipulation of others. Although we are not locked into the tormenting games Jigsaw's puzzles, our decisions are often determined by the confines of our social classes. We are only able to have the will that we want in the environment of privilege. Outside of a privileged social class, our decisions are prioritized by the necessities of safety and survival. Jigsaw exploits this reality. He takes people out of the comforts of their privileged lives and puts them into an entirely deterministic scenario, ultimately highlighting the gifts that come with privilege and free will.
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